Page 35 - All About History - Issue 72-18

Elizabeth vs Mary
The ruins of Loch
Leven Castle, where
Mary was imprisoned
to look at the letters, Mary demanded to
personally appear at the tribunal to plead her
innocence, but Elizabeth refused her request.
Despite the letters, the case was ultimately
deemed ‘not proven’ in January 1569.
It was exactly what Elizabeth wanted, since
this verdict allowed her to avoid making a
choice regarding her cousin’s fate.
Interestingly, the queen’s failure to intervene
inthetrialindicatesthatshemayhaveknown
that the Casket Letters had been fabricated to
condemn Mary.
With Mary declared neither guilty nor
innocent,Elizabethcouldkeephercousin
under house arrest for as long as she wanted.
ShecouldalsoavoidreceivingMaryatcourtto
prevent upsetting her allies in Scotland while
at the same time, stop her cousin from seeing
those who would turn her into a figurehead for
Catholic plots against the crown.
These fears weren’t helped by the volatile
situation occurring in Europe, with the counter-
reformation taking a hold in France with the
Wars of Religion, as well as the Dutch Revolt
in the Low Countries against King Philip II of
Spain. The rivalry between Mary and Elizabeth
mirrored this battle between Catholicism and
Protestantism, turning them into symbolic
representatives for their respective religions.
It would be easy to paint Elizabeth as the evil
queen who kept Mary imprisoned, but the truth
is she sympathised with her cousin.
Though Mary was her rival, Elizabeth knew
exactly what it was like to be used by the
opposition, because it had happened to her just
over a decade earlier, during the reign of her
Catholic half-sister Queen Mary I.
Embroiled in Wyatt’s Rebellion against
Mary in 1554, Elizabeth almost lost her head.
Imprisoned in the Tower of London for two
months, Elizabeth failed to incriminate herself
with her clever and evasive answers, to the
dismay of Mary and her advisors.
With no hard evidence to condemn her,
Elizabeth was released and placed under house
arrest for a year in Woodstock, followed by a
short return to court to attend to Mary during
her first phantom pregnancy. Afterwards,
Elizabeth retreated to Hatfield House to
escape court gossip and further implication in
malicious plots, choosing to remain there for
therestofMary’sreign.
Coming so close to death had taught
Elizabeth that even without concrete evidence,
she was in constant danger – just like her
cousin – and that if Mary was
to be condemned, there had to “If Mary was
be definite proof of her guilt.
to be condemned,
Following the tribunal, Mary
was placed in the custody of
theEarlofShrewsburyand there had to be
his wife, Bess of Hardwick, at
Tutbury Castle. GHúQLWH SURRI RI
Although she was locked
away, Mary still remained a
threat to Elizabeth’s throne. her guilt”
As a solution, it was suggested
that Mary should marry a loyal English
nobleman in order to neutralise her power. In
particular, there was one man, Thomas Howard,
4th Duke of Norfolk, who was willing to marry
the Scottish queen.
Mary, Queen of Scots
escapes from Loch
Leven Castle
Norfolk, the man who had led Mary’s
tribunal, had been plotting to marry her
for some time. The proposed marriage was
supported by a few leading nobles, including
Dudley, who hoped Mary would convert to
Protestantism and be restored to her Scottish
throne as an ally for England. Mary readily
agreed to marry Norfolk, hoping it would
secure her freedom.
The nobles had conducted the negotiations in
secret, fearing the queen’s wrath.
When the scheme was discovered, a furious
Elizabeth had Norfolk thrown into the Tower of
London in October.
In a letter dated 31 January 1570 Mary
remained defiant, writing, “You have promised
to be mine, and I yours; I believe the Queen of
England and country should like of it”.
In the meantime, a Catholic plot to depose
Elizabeth and replace her with Mary was
underway, known as the Rising of the North.
Led by the Earls of Northumberland and
Westmoreland, they were accompanied by a
totalof6,000 rebels.
When news of the rebellion
broke, Elizabeth moved Mary
to Coventry so the conspirators
couldn’t free her.
The rising was crushed and
many of the rebels fled to
Scotland, while another 600 to
800 of them were sent to the
hangman’s noose.
Nevertheless, this rebellion
was the first uprising against
the queen and it had left
Elizabeth shaken – she knew
that Mary’s presence was a threat, but now it
had come to fruition.
The danger to Elizabeth’s life was highlighted
further after James Hamilton, whose family
supported Mary, assassinated Moray in
Mary’s trial for her
involvement in the
Babington Plot
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